A Judge's Personal Characteristics, Such as Party Identification, Political Ideology

A judge's personal characteristics, such as party identification, political ideology, prior careers, religion, age, and sex are important aspects of judicial decision making because

A) they allow access to particular groups when filing friend of the court briefs.
B) they predispose a judge to decide cases in certain ways.
C) they are often set-aside by the judge when making judicial decisions.
D) they are extremely influential in appellate courts but not trial courts.